A great running back on a football team can become a major liability for his team. All he has to do is fumble the football. To prevent a back from becoming a fumbler, the coach teaches a 4-point contact rule. The back should hold the ball so that four points of his body are in contact with the ball – his hand, his forearm, his upper arm and his chest. Any missing contact point puts the ball at risk of being fumbled.
When opponents surround the back, the four points are not enough. At the point of engaging the opponents, the back should hold on to the ball with both hands and arms.
To drill this rule, the coach will the player run between two lines of people. Everybody in those lines will be attempting to poke the ball away from the back. If he loses any of his contact points, a fumble becomes a distinct possibility. For those backs who still have trouble, the coach might make them carry a football with them everywhere they go. The coach will repeatedly scream, “Hold on to the ball!” It is that important.
In marriage it is important that we husbands hold fast to our wives. Don’t let go! In the very beginning, God had this to say about the relationship between a husband and a wife;
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
(Genesis 2:24, ESV)
When speaking of marriage, Jesus (Matt 19:5) and Paul (Eph 5:31) both used this verse to teach the same truth. It is that important. But what does it mean to hold fast?
Continue Reading…